- Source
- Herodotus. Godley, Alfred Denis, editor. Cambridge, MA; London: Harvard University Press; William Heinemann, Ltd., 1920-1925 (printing).
- Translation
- AI-generated (gemini-3.5-flash) — machine translation; may contain errors
- Languages
- 日本語 · English · 简体中文 · 한국어
- CTS URN
- urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0016.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:7.46.1-7.46.4
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-08
Xerxes explains to Artabanus that his tears flow from pity for the brevity of human life, to which Artabanus responds by emphasizing that life is so filled with misery that death is often preferred, and that God is envious.
μαθὼν δέ μιν Ἀρτάβανος ὁ πάτρως, ὃς τὸ πρῶτον γνώμην ἀπεδέξατο ἐλευθέρως οὐ συμβουλεύων Ξέρξῃ στρατεύεσθαι ἐπὶ τὴν Ἑλλάδα, οὗτος ὡνὴρ φρασθεὶς Ξέρξην δακρύσαντα εἴρετο τάδε. ὦ βασιλεῦ, ὡς πολλὸν ἀλλήλων κεχωρισμένα ἐργάσαο νῦν τε καὶ ὀλίγῳ πρότερον· μακαρίσας γὰρ σεωυτὸν δακρύεις.
His uncle Artabanus—who at first had freely expressed his opinion, advising Xerxes not to march against Greece—this man, when he perceived him and noticed Xerxes weeping, asked him this: “O King, how very different are the things you have done now and a little while ago! For after declaring yourself blessed, you weep.”
ὁ δὲ εἶπε ἐσῆλθε γάρ με λογισάμενον κατοικτεῖραι1 ὡς βραχὺς εἴη ὁ πᾶς ἀνθρώπινος βίος, εἰ τούτων γε ἐόντων τοσούτων οὐδεὶς ἐς ἑκατοστὸν ἔτος περιέσται. ὁ δὲ ἀμείβετο λέγων ἕτερα τούτου παρὰ τὴν ζόην πεπόνθαμεν οἰκτρότερα.
And he said: “For pity came over me as I reflected how short is the whole of human life, seeing that of all these, many as they are, not one shall survive to the hundredth year.” But Artabanus answered, saying: “We have suffered other things during our life more pitiable than this.
ἐν γὰρ οὕτω βραχέι βίῳ οὐδεὶς οὕτω ἄνθρωπος ἐὼν εὐδαίμων πέφυκε οὔτε τούτων οὔτε τῶν ἄλλων, τῷ οὐ παραστήσεται2 πολλάκις καὶ οὐκὶ ἅπαξ τεθνάναι βούλεσθαι μᾶλλον ἢ ζώειν. αἵ τε γὰρ συμφοραὶ προσπίπτουσαι καὶ αἱ νοῦσοι συνταράσσουσαι καὶ βραχὺν ἐόντα μακρὸν δοκέειν εἶναι ποιεῦσι τὸν βίον.
For in so short a life, no man is born so happy, either of these or of others, to whom it will not occur many times, and not just once, to wish to die rather than to live. For disasters falling upon us and sicknesses troubling us make life, short though it is, seem to be long.
οὕτω ὁ μὲν θάνατος μοχθηρῆς ἐούσης τῆς ζόης καταφυγὴ αἱρετωτάτη τῷ ἀνθρώπῳ γέγονε, ὁ δὲ θεὸς γλυκὺν γεύσας τὸν αἰῶνα φθονερὸς ἐν αὐτῷ εὑρίσκεται ἐών.3
Thus, since life is miserable, death has become the most desirable refuge for man; but God, having given us a taste of the sweetness of life, is found to be envious in it.”
- 7.46.2ἐσῆλθε γάρ με λογισάμενον κατοικτεῖραι
The impersonal construction ἐσῆλθέ με (it entered me, i.e., the feeling came over me) is followed by the infinitive κατοικτεῖραι (to pity). The participle λογισάμενον is in the accusative to agree with με, which functions as the subject of the infinitive.
- 7.46.3τῷ οὐ παραστήσεται
The relative pronoun τῷ is the Ionic form corresponding to the Attic dative ᾧ, referring back to οὐδείς. The verb παραστήσεται here means "to occur to one's mind." The double negation οὐδεὶς ... τῷ οὐ ... creates the meaning "there is no one to whom it will not occur..."
- 7.46.4φθονερὸς ἐν αὐτῷ εὑρίσκεται ἐών
The verb εὑρίσκεται (is found) is used with the participle ἐών (Ionic for ὤν, "being") to mean "is found to be...". The active aorist participle γεύσας (from γεύω) is used causatively, meaning "having given a taste of."